


One More Chance

by MelodyoftheVoid



Series: Fading Reflections [7]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Baby, Competent Zim (Invader Zim), Depressed Dib, M/M, Memory Loss, Mind Control, Sibling Bonding, The Almighty Tallest Being Assholes (Invader Zim), he's doing his best, he's suffering y'all, no, pls, someone help him, zib stop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26107693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodyoftheVoid/pseuds/MelodyoftheVoid
Summary: Time is running out before the big day, final attempts are made, the finale closes in.
Relationships: Almighty Tallest Purple/Almighty Tallest Red, Dib & Gaz (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Series: Fading Reflections [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1817320
Comments: 80
Kudos: 164





	1. To Escape, To Flee

Zim winced as the cold salty spray lashed at his face, the storm only intensifying the closer they got to Irk. He clutched his cloak tight to his body, teeth clattering so hard it hurt. Yet the fear that coiled in the pit of his stomach paid no mind to the foaming waters, nor the crack of bright lightning threatening to strike the ship.

No, Zim’s anxiety came with the first free thoughts he’d had in weeks. Finally able to act on his own after so long. Solutions and problems coming and going at lightning speed

He almost relished in feeling anything but that numbing bliss Zib forced onto him. 

He hoped that whatever ailment plagued the prince never left him. It was the least he deserved.

The coast came into view, the imposing architecture of the palace a welcome sight.

Zim practically sprinted off the boat, running straight to the palace through the alleyways he’d painstakingly memorized. The fastest route he’d planned on the ship, he didn’t have time to spare. 

When he thought of Zib, of all the pain and agony he’d caused both him and his own fucking family, Zim’s blood boiled. 

That bastard had even gone as far as making him a compliant puppet for the world to laugh at. Making him fawn and drape himself over the prince he hated so deeply. Thank the gods for Tak, she managed to snap him out of his trance, reminding him of what he truly loved and cherished. He’d almost cried when the haze broke, remembering the despair on Dib’s face when he’d fallen. 

Zim had no idea how much of Dib was left, and every second could be his last. He needed someone with magic to rival Zib’s to free his love. He needed his family. And luckily for him, Tak had already chartered a boat to Irk. 

Now here he was, possibly one step closer to ending this nightmare for good.

Zim tore up the halls of his home palace, trying to both enjoy the freedom of his own mind back and focus on convincing his brother to help. His relationship with Red was… complicated at best, but he knew his older sibling. He hated being fooled or taken advantage of.

And Zib had pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes. 

A pair of familiar forms caught his eye. Purple sat on the arm of Red’s throne, staring off into the middle distance, bored as usual, while Red’s gaze was fixed squarely on him. Gathering his courage Zim strode into the room.

But something was decidedly off. 

Where were the guards? The nobles? Hell, where were the servants with the snacks? Zim tried to shake off the familiar feeling of unease. He couldn’t waste time on this. He needed to get their help. 

“Red, I don’t have much time to explain, but there is something I must tell you about Prince Zib. If you please just listen-“

Red interrupted with an exaggerated groan, rolling his eyes at the younger prince.

“Zim, why would you bother to come all this way to air a mild complaint about your betrothed? You show up, unannounced, and expect us to take you seriously? So close to the wedding? I get that you and him don’t get along but honestly this is ridiculous.”

Purple added, “Yeah, shouldn’t you be helping with the preparations?”

Zim fought back the instinct to shrink away, an old habit from years of dismissal at the hands of the two in front of him. 

“I hadn’t even told you anything! Why would you-“

“Besides,” Red smirked, resting his head on his hand and focusing on a point somewhere behind Zim, “I don’t think you need to worry about Zib. We had the pleasure of meeting him in person, he’s quite charming you know.” 

Zim froze. Their eyes… Their eyes were blue.

A faint “no”, left his lips, his stomach dropping as the clicking of heels grew louder.

“Thank you for your cooperation, I don’t think I would’ve caught my runaway groom without you.”

An all too familiar grip rested on Zim’s shoulders, gentle with an unsaid threat of growing tighter.

“We really must stop meeting like this Zim, I might start to think you don’t want to marry me.” 

Zib’s tone harsh, but tired, like he hadn’t slept in ages. Zim grit his teeth, trying to think of any way out of this.

“How did you get here before me?”

Stall Zim, get him talking, then flee. Go anywhere else.

“Well, when my betrothed wouldn’t show up to supper, I naturally questioned his bodyguard. And conjuring a storm just strong enough to delay you? Child’s play. Now the wedding is in a few days and it would be a shame if the guest of honor were not there.”

“It would be an honor if I were marrying anyone else but you.”

“I don’t quite think you have a choice in the matter,” Zib replied, eyes cast to the floor, oddly subdued, “You know you can’t run. It’s better for both kingdoms if you just stop fighting.”

He wanted to scream, to fight, to do anything, but he couldn’t. He was outnumbered, outmatched, and out of options. Zim turned around and looked Zib in the eye, feeling the familiar fog start to cloud his mind and quell the fire in his heart. He would at least face his fate with as much dignity as he could muster.

“You will never have me willingly. Not now, not ever. And I will… will,” the spell took hold once more, reducing Zim to a hollow shell, “I will do as you ask… My king.”

“Thank you, Zim.” 

Zib gripped Zim’s face, the expressionless look sending an uncomfortable shiver down his spine. This was what he got for letting his guard down for even a moment. 

“I must say, I like you better when you talk less.” 

Zib turned on his heel, then stopped. Zim really had put him in a bind by bringing Red and Purple into this. The many strings of his scheme circled around his neck like a noose. He was lucky that Miyuki was ill enough to not be in the picture. He shuddered to think of what she could do if she were well. 

And returning home presented a new host of problems. The further away he got, the more difficult it would become to maintain any level of control on the mind controlled princes. To say nothing of the physical repercussions. 

He could feel the phantom cramping in his hand.

Still, he couldn’t just let Red and Purple go, not without causing a major incident at best, or an all out war at worst. 

Wait. 

No, that would do. Zib sighed as he let the pair go, muttering a second spell under his breath as he made his way back to his ship. The oncoming headache would be manageable if it meant that he could avoid any further conflict. 

All that was left to do was prepare for his big day.


	2. To Set Things Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaz steps up, but is there anything left to save?

The stone halls of the castle had never seemed quite so oppressive to Gaz. Even as a child the imposing columns and grand windows gave a sensation of grandeur to her path through the castle. Now though, the halls were cold and empty. No servants, they were all off preparing for the wedding. No knights in the halls, they were off guarding the perimeter. And worst of all, no family. 

That one stung the deepest.

Gaz thought, even just a few days ago, that the remains of her family, desperate as they were, could still be held together. Their father went out of his way to try and make conversation, and for once he appeared to listen. The usual furrow of his brow gone as he let her vent about the weaker recruits, chuckling when she cracked the occasional joke at the nobles who still doubted her skills.

Zib was… happy, and she supposed that the mourning period was different for everyone. She’d done her best to ignore the creeping unease that came with each slight smile and smirk. 

But then she’d seen Zim. 

At the sight of his vacant stare, those glassy eyes, a complacent smile as Zib went about his day, any remaining optimism vanished. Gaz had to use all the strength she had to not vomit when Zim spoke in an eerie monotone, no arguing, no fighting, no life. Her brother, the one she trusted, pledged her loyalty to protect, not even blinking at the Irken prince’s empty responses. When he asked Zim to accompany him to the gardens, the bewitched boy draped himself over her brother’s arm like he used to with Dib. She’d broken her favorite sword that night in a fit of rage. 

But that wasn’t important. No. She had a mission tonight, and she couldn’t let them down. Not Zim, not Tak, and especially not her brother.

Not Zib though. As far as she was currently concerned, he was no longer her sibling. He surrendered that right.

Because not only was Dib not dead, oh no. His disappearance was all part of Zib’s plan to become king. All the times he’d feigned sympathy for her, offering comfort and support? All an attempt to keep her complacent and loyal to him. Zim’s pleas for help falling on her deafened ears. 

It took the combined efforts of Tak and Zim to keep her from going and skewering Zib where he stood, reminding her that Dib was still in danger. So they hatched their own plans, and now that she suspected Zim’s would fail? 

She needed to make her move.

The oak door of Zib’s study swung easily open, the light of Gaz’s candle the only light beside the dim glow of the waning moon. Gaz glanced around the room, trying not to sneeze at the thin layer of dust that had settled over the shelves and furniture. Every crystal and macabre skull screamed suspicious; the atmosphere oppressive. Temptation crept into her hands to smash and burn every gaudy trinket and leather-bound book. 

Yet again though, that was not why she was here.

The youngest Membrane approached the mirror hanging on the wall, just as Zim had hastily described through tears. Though one major difference struck fear into her heart. She could barely see her brother in the reflection. At best she could make out a vague shape, an outline of a person. 

Was it already too late? Was Zim lying when he said there was still time? 

“Dib?” 

Her voice broke the silence of the room, but it returned as though she hadn’t spoken at all. The figure in the glass unmoved. 

“Dib, it’s me, Gaz. I’m here! I’m here please say something, anything.”

The shape came into focus, now looking like Dib but out of focus. Blurry. Eyes distant and vacant, a flicker of… something behind them. 

“…Gaz?”

Dib’s voice barely even registered to her, sounding more like a faint breeze than her sibling. 

“Dib,” relief ran over her briefly, “Dib I’m here to get you out.”

“Out? Out where?”

He sounded almost slurred, the words indistinct. 

“What the fuck do you mean out where? We need a plan to get you out of this stupid mirror.”

He didn’t respond at first, dazed stare directed at a spot near her, but not focused. 

“Zim, come on, you remember Zim don’t you?”

Dib blinked at her, something resembling recognition flashing across his face. 

“Zim…I- I remember him, I love him, right? He was here... Then my captor he- he- Was that who he stole from me?”

The hurt on Dib’s face sent more guilt coursing through Gaz, gods above he could barely recall even Zim, the love of his life. 

“Yes! But he can break free! He’s going to get the help of Prince Red and Purple, or… He’s trying to. Zib left to chase after him.”

“Oh. Oh...”

Dib slumped, the small flickers of life dying out just as soon as they appeared. Panic seeped back in. Hope, she needed him to have something to hope for. 

“Zim told us what happened, he explained all of it before he left. I’ve seen what it’s doing to Zib. It’s killing him, or at least seriously hurting. He’s weak right now, this is our chance.”

“He thinks this is what he wants. Maybe it is... ” 

“Cryptic, but not helpful,” Gaz put a hand on the glass, trying to figure out her next move, “What can we do to stop Zib? Step one has to be getting you out, then we can focus on what comes next.”

The mirror offered no reply, only a soft sigh. Dib copied her movements to the letter as she paced the room, hands itching for her sword but finding none. 

“Dib, did Zim have a plan to get you out prior to… that? Is there something we can try here?”

“I don’t remember, it might have needed the Irkens’ help, but that, that failed...” 

Gaz clutched at her head, temper boiling over. Helplessness turning to pure rage. 

“What can I do then? Huh?!”

She was beyond caring about keeping her voice down. Why wasn’t Dib trying to help her? She was finally free of Zib’s lies, finally in a place to do something, and he can’t be bothered to work with her? She needed to accomplish anything to keep her life together, as a part of her duty to him and her family, instead of enabling its decay through apathy.

“Do I need to break this fucking mirror? Say some ancient words? Wave my hands around or some dumb shit?”

Dib shook his head, eyes downcast, “Breaking the mirror would… break me. I’m a part of it. I think. And magic isn’t… isn’t an option for you.”

A scream left her, it took all her willpower to not punch the mirror, just to say that she’d tried. 

“Just let me fucking help you! Do you have any idea how frantic Zim was to get you out? ” 

“And where did that,” his already faint voice dropped even lower, “where did that get him? Gaz… I don’t think there’s any way for you to free me; not in time. It’s probably better if you just… leave me here. I don’t want you getting hurt for no reason too...”

Gaz stumbled back, her breath quickening. Tears stinging the edges of her eyes. This wasn’t like when Dib got too wrapped in his anxieties to see the next step forward, more a bundle of overactive nerves than a person. No. In front of her was someone who had completely given up. Who saw no point to the desperation of his loved ones to free him. 

This wasn’t her brother. 

“SHUT UP! Do you even hear yourself! How can you just give up like that! Give up on Zim like that! Do you have any idea how much he needs you? How much-” a sob stopped her train of thought, all the anger she’d built up vanishing at the husk of a person her brother had become, “How much I need you. Dib… please.”

She fell to her knees, pressing up against the glass as hard as she could, futilely searching for a tactile comfort. 

“If you give up- If you… if you disappear, I won’t have anyone left. You were always there for me then, please,” she couldn’t hold back the pain anymore, whatever was left of her composure vanishing, leaving behind a frightened girl, weeping alone in an empty room, “please don’t leave me now.”

Only the quiet breeze answered her pleas.

“I’m sorry I didn’t see sooner, I, I blamed myself for you- your ‘death’ and I just let Zib do whatever he wanted, because I was too afraid that I’d drive him away too, but… It’s already too late for that. If I can at least free you- and free Zim-”

“...ok”

“What?”

Gaz opened up her eyes and into Dib’s, pain evident in his eyes but a determination there as well. He pressed his hand up to meet hers, “I don’t know… I don’t know how, but… if anyone could find a way it’d be you. You’re more stubborn than anyone, right?” 

Wiping away her tears, Gaz stood up, Dib mirroring her movements, but not fully. So there was some fight left in him. Good. She needed that. 

“You’re right, like I’m going to let him win. Not after all the shit he’s pulled.”

The hesitant optimism between the siblings grew, Dib bringing a hand to his chin with some effort, but moving on his own. 

“Do you know what he’s planning right now?”

“No, but the wedding is in a few days. The whole kingdom is expected to attend, not that anyone’s happy about the occasion. But if everyone’s there… then that means everyone is watching. That’s it!” 

“Gaz, what are you saying?”

Ignoring her brother, Gaz searched the room for Zib’s notes, scanning them for details about Dib’s curse. She let out a small cheer as her other brother’s idiocy came back to bite him. Shouldn’t leave notes lying around if you didn’t want anyone to read them. Shouldn’t leave your future experiments out if you didn’t want someone to replicate them. 

Holding up the notes to Dib, she could see the gears start to turn in his head as she started to explain her plan, the small hand mirror clutched in her hand their salvation. 

“If this works like he said it would, I can get you to the wedding-”

“Then he can’t deny what he did, not in front of everyone-”

“And we can corner him, and make him let you out. He won’t have a choice because we won’t give him one. He’s gotten away with this because he’s kept it hidden, but he won’t have an out.”

“That… that might actually work,” Dib smiled, its warmth only a shadow of its former self, but there nonetheless, “We can stop him.”

“Together?”

Tears beaded at the corners of Dib’s eyes, “Together, we’ll make this right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have two plans, we have one wedding where they collide. This can only end well, can't it. At least Dib has hope now, the effects of despair staved off for now. While Zim may have failed, Gaz found hope. Can you hear the bells of a ruinous wedding day?

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Zim... Don't worry, you'll get your chance soon enough. He wasn't as successful, but damn he was close.


End file.
